It boosts morale for the fans heading into spring practice, but wearing that five-star label can quickly become a curse. It's certainly not a guarantee for future NFL success. Rivals.com has tagged 43 running backs with five stars since 2002. Of those backs:

A total of 11 did not make it past the practice squad level in the NFL. Former Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky is the only one among that group that had more than 2,000 rushing yards in college.

Three — Lache Seastrunk, Isaiah Crowell and James Wilder Jr. — could either be signed or drafted in 2014.

So getting to the NFL is close to a 50/50 proposition.

That leaves this year's seven five-star backs to join 10 returners, led by Michael Dyer and T.J. Yeldon, two backs who have taken very different paths since winning national championships as freshmen.

While the NFL is the ultimate goal for the running back, all college fans care about is what that five-star running back does right now.

In short, everybody wants the next Adrian Peterson. Good luck.

The Peterson principle

Peterson, who played at Oklahoma from 2004-06, is the standard for which five-star backs will be judged. Between high school, college and the NFL he's has 3,278 carries, 19,171 yards and 181 TDs. Peterson is the only five-star back since 2002 to finish with more than 4,000 rushing yards and 40 TDs in college.

The trouble now is every five-star running back since — including Fournette — ranked No. 4 overall on Rivals.com — deals with that impossible standard.

Fournette might have the size, but an adjusted expectation for his college career would be 3,000 rushing yards. Brian McLaughlin, recruiting writer for Saturday Down South, said that can happen.

"Fournette is going to make an impact," McLaughlin said. "He already looks like a NFL player. A guy likes him because his build, it's already there. What really impresses (scouts) is the size. The speed is one thing; a lot of these guys have speed. When the guy is 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2, 225-pounds already, that's what impresses the scouts."

Other backs that cleared 3,000 yards include Bush, Richardson, Chris Wells and Jerious Norwood. Dyer (2,558 yards) and Yeldon (2,343 yards) are closing in on that mark.

So, why did the other five-star backs fail? There are several reasons.

Marcus Lattimore suffered two major knee injuries at South Carolina and spent 2013 rehabbing with the 49ers. (AP Photo)

Injuries

Marcus Lattimore is the five-star poster back for injuries. Lattimore rushed for 1,197 yards and 17 TDs as a freshman, but suffered season-ending injuries to both knees in consecutive seasons. Lattimore spent this season recovering with the San Francisco 49ers.

Accumulated injuries also can cut a career short in the pros. Peterson, Bush, Stewart, Norwood and Kregg Lumpkin are the only five-star backs that played five years or more in the NFL. Wells dealt with foot injuries at Ohio State and lasted just four years in the NFL after being a first-round pick for the Arizona Cardinals.

Transfers

Eight of the 36 running backs transferred from college at least once, a list that includes Seastrunk, Dyer, Crowell, Brown, Darrell Scott, Brandon Williams, Mike Bellamy and Jermie Calhoun.

Playing time and off-field incidents were contributing factors, but there's another component to consider with today's five-star backs.

"Social media changed a lot of things," McLaughlin said. "There is a me-first, now-first attitude that can be out there. I don't know if it's as much they feel pressure to believe they can play early and do well as they believe it is their right to play early and do well. That's led to some of the transfers."

Derrick Green ran for 270 yards and two TDs last season as a freshman at Michigan. (AP Photo)

Pressure to perform

That social media pressure works both ways. Five-star backs are often seen as immediate program changers by the fans, and that can backfire if there isn't success early.

Consider last year's five-star crop of Thomas Tyner (Oregon), Derrick Green (Michigan), Taquan Mizzell (Virginia) and Greg Bryant (Notre Dame). Those four backs combined for just 1,179 yards and 12 TDs last season — numbers they were expected to put up single-handedly. This quartet will be under scrutiny for their respective sophomore seasons.

Spread offense

The evolution of the spread offense affects the perception of what a big-time back really does for a program, and that's become a tricky situation in the scouting and ranking process.

"The all-purpose scat-back types; analysts are more gun-shy about putting them high," McLaughlin said. "The guys that look like a dominant player tend to get ranked higher.

"It just depends on which scheme the program is running. At Georgia, it's very important to have a good running back," McLaughlin said. "Now, I can also tell you when Urban Meyer was at Florida, he didn't necessarily get that 25-carry back because they knew it would be niche position."

Fournette, Mixon and Michel all are going to teams with a "Running Back U" reputation. Cook, Hood, Hurd and Thomas are going to schools with spread offenses.

Verdict

Running back used to be the marquee position in college football, and that success was measured by the sport's most prestigious award. Nothing validates a recruiting win quite like a Heisman Trophy.

From 1972-83, 12 straight running backs won the Heisman Trophy, and three of those winners (Earl Campbell, Billy Sims, George Rogers) all became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Those guys almost certainly would've been five-star recruits had today's rankings existed.

Only seven running backs have won the Heisman since, and Bo Jackson (1986) and Ki-Jana Carter (1995) were the only No. 1 picks in the NFL Draft — two backs who dealt with career-ending injuries.

In the BCS Era, Bush is the only five-star running back who won the Heisman, and he had that award vacated.

Quarterback has taken over. Quarterbacks own every Heisman Trophy but one since 2000. Four of the last five No. 1 picks in the NFL Draft were quarterbacks. There's an overall sense that you can wait on running backs — even the five-star guys who have maximized their talent. For example, Peterson was the No. 7 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

"There is some cyclical side to it," McLaughlin said. "There are years when it doesn't seem like a quarterback is worthy of a five star. It can be that way with a lot of positions. I don't think you chalk it up to anything more than cycles."

The incoming five-star freshmen face all, but McLaughlin isn't ready to dismiss the notion that a five-star running back can make a splash right away. McLaughlin didn't bill Fournette as "the next Peterson," but there wasn't an immediate dismissal either.

"It's been a while since we've had a running back at the top of everything," McLaughlin said. "(Fournette) is pretty solidly on top of a lot of rankings. Sometimes you can tell when they just look like they are the next big NFL draft pick. With Leonard, you start to wonder a little bit."